Sometimes it's easy to fall down the Google search rabbit-hole and convince yourself your weeks-long onion ring craving actually means you're suffering from liver dysfunction. How can you tell what's real? We've enlisted Alissa Rumsey MS, RD, and creator of the free guide Three Steps to a Healthier You, to set the record straight.

Red Meat

Although Rumsey cautions that cravings, for the most part, are not evidence of a deficiency—"if that was the case, we'd all be craving fruits and vegetables!"—red meat can indicate a want for iron, an issue especially for women with heavy periods.

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French Fries

Always. "Salt cravings can occur if you're falling short on minerals, specifically calcium, magnesium, and zinc," Rumsey says. But at the same time, a hankering for potatoes bathed in boiling oil, twice, as the best ones are, could mean that you're one of nine in 10 Americans who consume too much sodium. Rumsey says you can retrain your taste buds to crave salt by reducing the amount of sodium you eat.

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Cheese

This may indicate that you're not eating enough fat (yay)—as in omega-3 fatty acids (less enthusiastic yay). Rumsey says the best sources are fatty fish like salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts.

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Candy

Remember what we just said about salt, as in "the more you have, the more you want it?" Same goes for sugar. "If you're overdoing it on simple carbohydrates, such as pasta, bread, bagels, and pastries, you may find that you end up craving more candy and other sweets. Simple carbohydrates spike your blood sugar, which leads to a big release of insulin, followed by a blood sugar crash. When this crash happens, your appetite can spike and you can crave more sugar." Maybe they weren't kidding when they called sugar our generation's cigarettes.

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Pasta

"[Pasta] is similar to a sugar or candy craving because simple carbs are treated the same way as sugar once they are digested. If you're eating too many simple carbs and not enough protein and fat, your blood sugar levels will fluctuate, causing you to crave more carbs."

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Onion Rings

Rumsey chalked this random craving up to the carb conundrum (with the breading), as explained in the previous slide.